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Biggles Learns Something
Biggles Learns Something is the sixth short story in the eighth anthology of Biggles Air Police short stories entitled Biggles Flies to Work. The anthology was first published in September, 1963. In the anthology, this story is preceded by Horace Takes a Hand and followed by Dangerous Freight. Synopsis As Biggles noted to Ginger, in almost every case of illegal flying, the criminal made a point of choosing an isolated location. "Be funny, wouldn't it," he says to Ginger, "if a crook was smart enough to realize that and go to the other extreme by landing in the middle of a crowd of ten thousand people." So Biggles learns in this story. Plot (may contain spoilers - click on expand to read) Raymond has a puzzle for Biggles. How did Andre Plaudet, a French rebel and fugitive, end up on a photo taken at the Ascot Races? How did he get to England? The puzzle deepens when discreet enquiries with Marcel reveal that Plaudet was not a gambler. He had never been to a race meeting in his life. He had no other interests except for art and politics. Gaskin and his men watch all the race meetings for a while but fail to see him again. At length, Biggles decides to visit a race meeting at Newmarket to take a look for himself. Here Gaskin throws Biggles a spinball: "I suppose you'll fly up?" Biggles is flabbergasted. Apparently flying into a race meeting was becoming fashionable and it had never occured to him. A clever criminal might decide there is safety landing in the middle of a crowd of ten thousand people. Biggles and Ginger fly into Newmarket and are joined by Gaskin. A French helicopter flies in. A passenger steps out. An attendant at the parking place for aircraft identifies him as a Frenchman, one Baron du Fornier. But Gaskin sees through the disguise: it's a wanted criminal known as Sharky the Card. Meanwhile Biggles strolls past the helicopter and recognises the pilot: it's Laxter, formerly a pilot working for von Stalhein. Then who should turn up but Andre Plaudet himself! He must be flying back to France. Biggles sends Ginger to call and warn Marcel while he takes off and follows the helicopter. Approaching France, Marcel drops in with his Morane and takes over the pursuit. Laxter and Plaudet are shortly thereafter arrested as they land in a field in Normandy. Characters The Special Air Police/Scotland Yard *Air Commodore Raymond *Biggles *Ginger Hebblethwaite *Gaskin Others *Marcel Brissac *Andre Plaudet *Sir Francis Ringle *Captain Woodside *Baron du Fornier *Laxter Aircraft *Auster J1 Autocrat *Sud-Ouest Farfadet - F-WBKL Places Visited *London, Scotland Yard - Raymond's office, Biggles' office, Gaskin's office *Newmarket Heath Mentioned *Ascot Heath Research Notes References to the past *Laxter was von Stalhein's second pilot? There was a Verney Laxter in Biggles on the Home Front but he had died at the end of the story. Research has not revealed any other Laxter in the Biggles stories, certainly not in association with von Stalhein. Why should Johns mention this tantalizing detail when it is not necessary? Perhaps he was thinking of someone else? Dick Canton perhaps? Incongruities Chronology References Category:Biggles short stories Category:Short stories Category:Air Police era short stories